Promotes To

Usable Weapon Types

Class Skills

The Sage (賢者 Kenja) is a combat magical class that recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem Series, beginning from Fire Emblem Gaiden. The original promoted form of the Mage class in several titles, the Sage class wields Anima magic as its primary weapon of choice, alongside staves for support purposes.

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In its original inception in Gaiden, the Sage class is introduced as a replacement for the Bishop class, acting as the promoted form of the Mage class.

The Sage class is then rendered absent until the onset of Genealogy of the Holy War. The Sage class acts as the promoted form of Shamans and Bards, and is, apart from wielding all types of Anima Magic, also able to arm Light magic and Staves. The Sage could be considered the ultimate playable magic class and the counterpart to the enemy Dark Bishop class. Of the playable Sages, only one character in the first generation can become a sage and only two characters in the second generation. Even in the enemy armies, Sages are rare.

In Thracia 776, the Sage class remains mostly the same, but is now also the promoted form of Asbel, a character who starts out as a Mage. In comparison to Genealogy of the Holy War, Sage is no longer a rare class which would remain the case throughout the rest of the series.

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Sage class acts as the promoted form of the various Mage classes, as is the case in Gaiden. Like its Jugdral predecessor, the Sage class in this title is able to wield Anima Magic and Light Magic, however it has the lost use of Staves.

The Sage class is not instituted as the staple promoted form of the Mage class until The Binding Blade. This iteration of the class is locked to employing only Anima Magic and Staves. The exemption to this is Guinivere in the trial maps, which can use light.

In The Sacred Stones, the Sage class is one of the promoted forms of both Monks and Priests. This iteration of the class is, like its Jugdral incarnation, able to wield Light magic alongside Anima Magic and Staves.

In Radiant Dawn, the Sage class specialises in specific types of Anima Magic, and is thence split into Fire, Thunder and Wind Sages. Other non-Anima variations of the Sage class also exist, taking the form of the Light and Dark Sage classes, specialising in Light and Dark Magic respectively.

In Fates, the Sage class is known as Onmyoji (陰陽師 Onmyōji) and is treated as a Hoshidan class.

In the spin-off Warriors, it is the promoted class of Linde in the English version, though in the Japanese version, Linde's promoted class is the Bishop. It is an infantry class that uses Tomes and Staffs. There is also an enemy-only version that acts as a clone of the Grandmaster class, and the Hoshidan version, the Onmyoji, is also present as an enemy-only class in this game.

Sages tend to possess the highest Magic growth and caps of any non-exclusive class in most titles, although there have been exceptions to this rule; Sorcerers in Fates, for one, have slightly higher Magic.

Interestingly, Mages in Path of Radiance have the choice of gaining the ability to wield either Knives or Staves upon promotion, with all Pre-Promoted sages having the former chosen for them by default. This marks the second occurrence of a magic-wielding class gaining a non-magical weapon upon promotion (the first being the Mage Knight of FE4, using Swords). The latter option is, however, ostensibly more useful, in that it adds healing powers that draw upon the unit's Magic, whereas the former option is not especially useful in the hands of Sages, who will most often have low Strength, although it does offer a chance for them to physically attack units with high Resistance.

Due to the astronomical Magic cap boasted by Sages in this title, their Tome strength and healing potency is unparalleled. If they have high enough Magic, their range with the Rescue or Fortify staves can possibly cover entire maps, making them excellent support units. The two skills Sages can learn are Rally Magic and Tomefaire.

Rally Magic boosts Magic by 4 to all units within three spaces. In addition to powering up the combat magical capabilities of allies, this skill also makes the healing power of other staff users stronger, emphasizing Sages' supportive role and enhancing their strategic use. Tomefaire grants the user +5 to their Magic when they are equipped with a Tome; an outstanding boon under consideration of the fact Sages cannot wield any weapons besides tomes, and thus would never misuse the skill's benefits.

Onmyoji are parallel to Awakening's Sages in almost every aspect. Their physical defensive qualities remain lackluster, although this is compensated for by their reliable Skill, Speed and Resistance. In addition to this, Onmyoji wield Tomes and Staves as their primary equipment, alongside preserving Rally Magic and Tomefaire as their skills.

However, unlike their Awakening incarnation, Onmyoji do not boast superlative Magic in this game, the title now having been conferred to the Witch, who possess a hefty 36 Magic (three points above the Onmyoji class' 33), as well as an S Rank in Tomes (compared to the Onmyoji's maximum of A). Their Luck has also been noticeably downgraded, and in accordance to Fates' HP adjustments, their maximum HP is now 45, further dampening the little defensive use that they have.

However, none of this deter the player from employing the Onmyoji class. The Magic that they possess still remains among the best in the game, and their good Skill and Speed guarantee that they can consistently perform double attacks, as well as dodge sometimes and land critical hits reliably enough. Though they may be severely lacking in Defense, their Resistance remains steadfastly reliable, and it is thus very likely that they will be able to survive and even tank magical attacks aimed at them.

Onmyoji's B Rank in Staves further expands their usefulness by granting them access to a bounty of healing options and debuffs, making them not just powerful offensive casters, but more than outstanding supporters as well. While they may fill either role wonderfully, an Onmyoji's true versatility lies in how they can perform both simultaneously in the heat of battle, making them a valuable unit with many different uses.

(Please note that due to the discontinuation of the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi servers, the following information is arguably obsolete)

Sages are used mainly for their utility value. No sage is able to kill a combat unit one-on-one, and they are therefore mostly used for their staves. In particular, Staves like Fortify and Warp provide a team with a large tactical advantage.

The actual value of having a Sage on a squad is debatable. Sages can be easily killed in one-on-one encounters, and are also usually unable to take down foes in one-on-one combat. Despite this, the predominant reason Sages are deployed is because they do not drain stat-increasing items needed to make a squad of five powerful units. Normally, a team of five combat units will need to spread the boosts thinner and have little need for Magic boosts. However, a team of four combat units and a Sage will be able to distribute their limited boosts to the combat units by especially focusing Magic-based items on the Sage character. However, Strategist and specially Falcon Knight fit better this role because of their superb mobility.

Onmyoji (陰陽師), the Fates' name of the class, were Japanese scientists during the Heian Period who conducted research on astronomy, geology and atmospheric science to improve farming techniques or military strategies. In Japanese popular culture, they are often portrayed as spellcasters who expel demons.

In The Blazing Blade, the morphs Sonia and Limstella, while formally classed as Sages, have higher stat caps with respect to Defense and Resistance, both of which can reach a maximum of 30, compared with the usual 21 and 25 respectively that can be attained by normal female Sages.